Yemisi Izuora
AXA Mansard has entered into partnership with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA) to deepen awareness and prevention of domestic and sexual violence against children through community-based sensitisation campaigns across Lagos.
The initiative forms part of the 2026 AXA Week for Good themed, “Being A Child Shouldn’t Be A Risk,” aimed at improving public enlightenment, encouraging reporting of abuse cases and strengthening child protection mechanisms at the grassroots.
Under the partnership, employee volunteers of AXA Mansard Insurance Plc will embark on door-to-door community engagements in collaboration with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency, which will provide technical support, training and guidance during the campaign.
The company said the programme builds on the success of its 2025 collaboration with the agency, which focused on school-based interventions to educate children and teachers on domestic and sexual violence.
Chief Marketing Officer of AXA Mansard, Adebola Surakat, said this year’s campaign is targeted at families, parents, caregivers and community leaders because statistics show that most abuse cases occur within homes and among people familiar to children.
According to her, over 60 per cent of domestic and sexual violence cases involving children are linked to people known to them, making community sensitisation critical in tackling the menace.
She said the initiative would cover six communities where volunteers would educate residents on identifying abuse, reporting channels and safe parenting practices.
Surakat noted that AXA Mansard has continued to invest in social advocacy against domestic and sexual violence because organisations must contribute to building safer societies where they operate.
She added that in 2025, about 96 per cent of the company’s employees dedicated at least 30 minutes of their working hours to volunteer activities focused on raising awareness against domestic and sexual violence.
Executive Secretary of the DSVA, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, said domestic and sexual violence thrives in silence, ignorance and fear, stressing the need for continuous public education and community engagement.
Vivour-Adeniyi commended AXA Mansard for sustaining the partnership, noting that safeguarding children requires collective action involving government, the private sector and members of the public.
She said taking advocacy directly into communities would empower parents and caregivers with the knowledge needed to identify warning signs, protect vulnerable children and report abuse cases promptly.
AXA Week for Good is the flagship programme under AXA Mansard’s employee volunteering initiative, AXA Hearts in Action, through which employees reportedly contributed over 20,000 volunteer hours in 2025.